Arsenal are said to be lining up a new contract for manager Mikel Arteta before the end of the season as they look to keep him from potential advances from Manchester City.
Our former club captain has endured a mixed time in charge of the north London club thus far, winning two trophies in his opening year in charge, before undergoing a huge rebuild.
His fine work appears to be paying off at present as we look to be mounting a serious challenge for the top four, while the biggest job achieved thus far was removing a number of unnecessary squad players and bringing in players with the fire to succeed whilst instilling a winning mentality into our side.
Arteta has just 18 months remaining on his current deal, and the DailyMail is now claiming that he will be offered a new two-year deal.
The report claims that we are keen to tie him down to new terms prior to him entering the final year of his current contract, knowing that Pep Guardiola’s current Man City deal also expires during the same summer.
It is a strange thought to think of losing Arteta just as we appear to be on the cusp of making a potential return to the Champions League, and just as the owners finally believe they have a cause worth backing.
While the Spaniard hasn’t always had the backing from the fans, the Kroenke family have shown that they are certain, and the way they have invested in building the team has been huge for the club, and losing one key cog could easily undo all our hard work in recent seasons.
Watch Mikel Arteta talk about Arsenal v Burnley and the pressure on the race for Top Four